The Punishment for Heroism
by paba-ajuoga
Summary: Seemingly without provocation, the entire mobian population finds themselves suddenly alienated and prisoners of G.U.N. What's to become our once beloved heroes? And what caused this uprooting? Rated for V, C, & Death. First attempt at fanfiction. No OCs.
1. Keep Running

**안녕 하세요****, readers! As stated in the description, this is my first fan fiction. As for what to be wary of, there is some cussing (mostly from the more hot-headed characters), violence, and death in the later chapters. I hope you will enjoy it, and I welcome criticism. :)  
><strong>**So shall we begin? **

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – Keep Running<strong>

_**"As of yesterday, the mobian population is being collected by orders of the president."**_

Lungs heaved for air as bodies pushed their way through dense vegetation. Hands clawed at vines and branches desperately to open a path through the congested morass of jungle and feet struggled to pull through bundles of thorny roots and muck. Occasionally, the bustling creatures passed under a scope of trees where the canopy was thin and light filtered through almost mockingly into grim heart of the jungle, and they could see one another - dirtied and sweaty and exhausted.

_**"There has been no announcement from either the president or G.U.N., who have been placed in charge of their acquisition, as to where they will be taken or why."**_

"Sonic, please!" A cry choked out between wheezes, barely audible over the combination of the jungle's ambiance and the snapping of branches and pat of mud under feet. "Slow down! We can't keep up!"

The blue hedgehog, who was a considerable distance from the other figures wrestling after him, slowed his steps until he came to a halt. A sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over him as soon as his body was given the chance to rest, and he struggled to his knees as vertigo began to set in. Gradually his companions spilled out after him of the clearing they had created and, seeing their leader doubled over in the dirt, allowed themselves to rest as well.

"Haven't we walked far enough? I'm sure we'll be safe here for a little while." the youngest of their procession, Tails, moaned. He scratched at his legs viciously, which were shredded and raw from their trek and irritated even more from the dried mud that was packed against the fur on his lower body.

"Quit that!" Knuckles' large glove swatted at the boy's head weakly, who squeaked in surprise more than pain. The echidna stiffly moved over to Sonic's side and nudged at his ribs with his knee. "Well?"

"No." Sonic said simply, refusing to lift his head to look at him.

"We've been running for days now!" Knuckles growled, stomping one of his shoes into the ground, which kicked up dirt against Sonic's fur. "We're all exhausted! If you think all of us can keep up with you like this you're crazy!"

"Speak for yourself." Shadow's gruff voice interrupted the echidna's yelling. He was leaning with his forehead pressed against the trunk of tree, and one of his hands gripped shakily at his chest. A grin formed on his lips as he turned his head toward Knuckles slightly, "You and that bitchy kid feel free to stay behind. Faker and I here can-" His eyes suddenly widened as he lurched forward, heaving what little contents his stomach held against the side of the tree.

Knuckles huffed angrily over the chorus of 'ewws' from the others. "You see? You're going to run all of us into the ground! You're going to kill all of-"

Sonic's head whipped up suddenly, and the intensity of frustration and fatigue twisted onto his dirty face silenced the echidna. "We can't stop!" the hedgehog shouted, struggling to stand once more. But his muscles protested against his movements, forcing him back to the ground, "You don't think they're not after us? You think they're going to give up after a few days? Amy heard them last night, she-" An unbearable stillness settled onto the clearing for a few seconds, as if all life had suddenly paused at some realization. Sonic's expression wiped from his face, and he squirmed on the ground violently as he was unable to stand. "A-Amy! Where's Amy?"

Knuckles spun around, scanning their surroundings for their companion in the clearing. "She was right behind us earlier.. She..." he breathed. Balling his fists, the echidna darted back through the tunnel of torn and crushed plant life they had come from, cursing loudly.

Throwing himself back onto the dirt, Sonic's ears perked as he listened hopefully for Knuckles to come upon some trace of the girl, but the only thing he could hear was the neglect of his fellow refugees that nagged at his conscious. Shadow slumped to the ground with a flat thudding noise as he hit the mud and groaned, and Tails was whimpering helplessly to himself as he struggled not to burst into tears.

"_**Their evacuation from Station Square brings little surprise to many people whom we have interviewed, who state that the tension between mobians and humans has never been something subtle, especially recently. More as this story develops…"**_

Minutes felt like hours as the three waited for the echidna's return, and their collective stillness allowed lethargy to set in even more so. They all knew they were dehydrated and their bodies and minds were quickly degenerating from lack of sleep– that their freedom was coming to an end. Even as miserable as they were, they clung to it, unable and unwilling to comprehend what was in store for them if they were caught.

Finally, Knuckles returned to the clearing, keeping his head down as he felt their eyes immediately on him. Without saying a word, he simply shook his head, and Sonic slammed his fists against the ground with what energy he could muster. "Shit."

"M-Maybe they found her.." Tails sniffled, swallowing hard. He found it painful, and pressed his fingertips against his throat.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Knuckles growled, letting himself drop to the ground as well. He pressed his glove over his face and scrubbed at his fur, trying to wipe some of the dirt and sweat away. "They're not far behind." He said seriously, his voice muffled. Silence from the others followed, and he continued. "I'm betting they're following the path we made. And by nightfall," His arm lifted toward the sky, wrist dangling limply as the limb stretched to its full length and then grasped at the air, "They'll move in."

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><p><strong>Very short chapter, but I wasn't sure how to cut it off so I trimmed some at the end and added it to the next one. Hope you like it so far! Is there too much dialogue? I hope reading it isn't too tedious. Sorry! <strong>**If anyone actually enjoys this, I might draw illustrations to go along with these chapters.  
><strong>**Reviews appreciated! ****감사 합니다 그리고 안녕히 가세요****!**

**파바****-****앚우카**


	2. Snared

**Chapter 2 – Snared**

Night was advancing on the four now, and the futility of their situation kept them put in the little clearing they had collapsed in just a few hours earlier. The heat of the jungle began to die with the day but there was no comfort in it. The enemy would be upon them soon, and they had taken this precious time to rest their bodies the best they could.

Distantly in the brush, a scuffle could be heard, and the boys could easily identify it as something feral. There was the scurrying of feet, the shuffling of grasses and branches, and finally a shrill cry from some small animal. The obnoxious buzz of the jungle became diluted and calmed, and they could hear the tearing of meat and crunch of bones. Something had been tracked, chased, and killed.

"Why is this happening?" Tails' voice rose almost to a shriek. Tears washed down his face, leaving the fur beneath his eyes and cheeks cleaner. "W-what did we do?" He continued on, desperate to get some sort of answer from his elder friends, desperate to understand what their struggle was for. "The humans… They've never done anything like this to us before. Why now?"

His questions were met merely with silence, and the fox babbled to himself about the possibilities of the situation. Shadow, finding his panicking hard to ignore, trembled with anger as he pawed at the dirt around him. His hand fell over a flat stone about the size of his fist and he scooped in out of the earth before rearing back his arm. He thrust his forearm forward and released the stone, pegging the whimpering fox in the side of the ribs. "Will you shut the hell up!"

This only intensified Tails' cries as he fell to his side and clutched at where the rock had made impact. His sobs were breathless gasps now between strained, dragging yelps. No sooner had Shadow pelted the stone was Sonic on him, pressing his face down into the dirt. Shadow grunted nauseously as he felt his blue counterpart's knee dig into his stomach, and he struggled from under him until he managed to kick the other hedgehog off and throw him back against one of the surrounding trees. Sonic seemed one step ahead of him, however, and used the tree to propel himself back at his doppelganger, who was scurrying hurriedly to his feet. Just as quickly as he managed to do so, he was thrown back down by the force of Sonic's rebound.

Knuckles, who had been snoring soundly through the beginning of their struggle, was eventually roused by Tails' cries. "Hey.." the echidna grumbled, watching the unfolding scene through blurry vision. As his brain began to grasp the situation, he tore groggily to his feet after Sonic before he could jump Shadow again. "Hey! _**HEY!**_"

"What do you think you're doing!" Sonic demanded, struggling against the hold the echidna had him in.

"I'm tired of listening to that little shit!" Shadow snapped, kicking dirt up at the two as he climbed to his feet. "All he does is bitch!"

"He's_ eight years old_!"

"If you would've had the guts or the brains to ditch him when this mess started, we might've had a chance!"

"You selfish-!" Sonic stopped himself as he felt Knuckles' body suddenly tense up against his own, and he managed to slip out of his grasp as the echidna slapped his hand over something that had become embedded in his shoulder blade and tore it loose from his skin. Slowly, he opened his huge glove to reveal some sort of dart in the middle of his palm. The two hedgehogs leapt back as if Knuckles had suddenly contracted some horrible disease – it was a tranquilizer.

The three stared for what must have been only five seconds, but felt like an eternity to them. Finally, Knuckles clenched his fingers into a fist once more and his lips curled into a toothy grin. "Damn." He breathed, defeat as thick in his voice as the sedatives were becoming in his blood. Certainly he, as enervated and spent as he was, was still the picture of power. To be brought down by these cowardly humans so effortlessly was … "Pathetic."

"Tails! Get up buddy, we -" Knuckles' collapse caught the corner of Sonic's eye, who then promptly peeled the fox kid from the ground instead of waiting for some response. Shadow had disappeared by now, and whether he had fled from the scene or gone to confront their hidden assailants Sonic wasn't sure of. He awkwardly juggled Tails in his arms for a moment, finding the fox surprisingly cumbersome when he could barely support his own weight.

But adrenaline was pumping fiercely through the hedgehog now, allowing him to ignore the sting of his muscles, and the world around him seemed to become slower and clearer through his emerald green eyes. His body was giving him the opportunity to escape, and he wasn't going to abuse it.

Without considering direction, Sonic bolted into the refuge of the trees, which lurched after him from the force of his sudden acceleration. Branches and vines slapped at his face, scraping and hindering him – even nature seemed against him now. This, he knew, was entirely his fault anyway. But he had never imagined it would get so out of hand, that it would drag all of his companions down with him. His arms pressed his little brother's body closer to his, and in return he could feel the kit's fingers press his back.

He had to protect Tails.

The others could handle themselves, he told himself, lying of course. But Tails, how could he possibly manage in his state? No, he wouldn't even ponder the thought.

He had to protect Tails.

If not for the current preoccupation of Sonic's brain, he might have grasped a vital clue: the further his feet carried them, the quieter the jungle became. But it was too late now, their fate was set, and suddenly Sonic found himself tumbling to the ground. He wriggled violently and tried to lift his head to distinguish which way was up, but found moving was utterly impossible. It was not his own physical ability that prevented him from doing so, but instead something that had entangled his body.

He could feel a sharp stinging as something pierced shallowly into this back- and another, and another. Gradually, his own body seemed to become too heavy for himself. There was a sinking feeling about him now, and he found he could only lie there, drowning in his own inhibitions and cowardice. One of his hands brushed lethargically over Tails' head who was screaming now from under him, but the noise seemed distant to him.

They had been tracked, chased, and now…

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><p><strong>Okay, chapter two! Hope you're enjoying it so far, and that I'm not getting too out of character here or inconsistent in style. (Gah, why I am so nervous?) I have several ideas for an ending in my head, though I'm starting to lean toward one in particular that's pretty gruesome. I'm not sure how much longer the story will go on, maybe a few more chapters. I don't want to run the risk of dragging it out too long and end up killing it, especially on my first try. <strong>**ㅋㅋㅋ**

**I think I'm going to draw a little before continuing to update, so in you in a day or two!**

**Thanks for the reviews you guys! I'll try not to let you down! ****감사 합니다 그리고 안녕히 가세요****!**

**파바****-****앚우카**


	3. Cryptic Captives

**Chapter 3 – Cryptic Captives**

The world under him wasn't still, wrenching and quivering and threatening to toss him about if it felt the action might bring it some relish, that was the first thing he was aware of. Though he could feel the cool, solid ground beneath him, it seemed to be buoyant as if something was bearing it. Darkness shrouded everything, save from a handful of thin gleams of light that spilled through rifts in the distance and stabbed through the blackness. '_This way_', they said, with whispers that jumped and fragmented when the world shuddered, '_This is the way to freedom. You're so close, aren't you? This is the escape from the nothingness. This way!_'

Sonic's body jerked as his brain tore itself out of its subconscious state. He could hear varieties of breathing around, but he wasn't sure if it relieved him or not. His cheek seemed to cling to the floor slightly as he sat up, and it stung a little when the warmer air hit it.

"Hey, Blue." A voice he recognized all too easily crooned to him in the darkness.

"Rouge?" He didn't bother waiting for her to answer. "Where are we?"

"Oh, Sonic!" Another voice shrilled loud enough to cause his ears to shudder. He felt a pair of arms snake around his shoulders and promptly tighten, seizing him along with his personal space.

"Amy? You're here too?" One of his hands found her head, and he felt her duck a little at his touch. Momentarily, he considered shoving her away, but decided against it as he was not in the mood for her melodramatics. Sonic let her have her way of clinging to him, and found he didn't much mind it.

"We're in one of G.U.N.'s prisoner cars. And, from what I can tell, it's a pretty heavy-duty one too. But I guess that's understandable, considering our fellow 'cargo'." The bat replied, her aqua blue eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

"Who else is in here?" Sonic squinted, struggling to focus his vision. For the moment, all he could make out were blackened, still blobs among grey and more black.

"Well," Her ears stood straight up on her skull as she probed about their new abode with her hearing. "There's Knuckle-Head, Shadow, and Tails."

The hedgehog felt his heart sink – none of them had escaped.

"I'm surprised you're here too." He eyed the floating orbs of blue as he spoke, "I didn't figure G.U.N. would turn against their own."

A bitter cackle rose suddenly from the bat, making the two hedgehogs and several of the slumbering figures recoil in fright. "Are you kidding?" Her voice sank to a whisper, as if the outburst had drained a lot of energy from her. "I was one of the first taken into 'custody'. I didn't even get some kind of head's up as to what was going to go down." She paused. "Though, you guys have been on the run for a while, right? They questioned me, of course. They said when they went to apprehend the two of you at Tails' workshop, the place was completely empty. As was Amy's house, and Knuckles' island. Almost as if… you four _knew_ something."

Sonic's chest tightened as he held in his breath, and the black holes at the center of those two staring blue irises narrowed sharply. He knew she could see him clearly in the caliginousness, see the weakness and guilt that was held rigidly in his face. Was there a point in hiding it anymore? Air spilled from his lips, "I..-"

"S-Sonic?" The sound of his brother's voice calling weakly for him ripped Sonic away from his confession, and he hurriedly crawled toward the source of the noise to search for the kit once Amy released him.

"Ow!"

"Sorry buddy. I'm here." The hedgehog quickly jerked back his leg as it had accidentally settled on one of the fox's tails. Gently, a hand brushed over the top of his sibling's forehead, and finding it almost feverish, Sonic recoiled. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

Tails caught the concern in his voice and shook his head, though Sonic couldn't see it. "No," he murmured, "I'm fine, Sonic. But.. Where are we?"

"Let's.. wait until everyone else wakes up too, bud. I'll explain it then."

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><p><strong>Okay, I'm terribly sorry for this short, late update, but I've found myself very busy and sleepless in these last few days. Next chapter will be better, I promise! I struggled with this one a bit, and I don't like much how it turned out – content and length wise. But at least the group's all together now, and the story can finally really begin! I'm quite pleased with the ending I've finalized in my head. It's quite despicable. Haha.<br>****Anyway, my apologies again guys. If my next update takes a little while as well, I'm sorry, but I'll do my best to make it worth it! ****Reviews very much appreciated! ****감사 합니다 그리고 안녕히 가세요****!**

**파바****-****앚우카**


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